This feature-length documentary tells the story of the Asahi baseball team. In pre-World War II Vancouver, the team was unbeatable, winning the Pacific Northwest Championship for five straight years. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, all persons of Japanese descent in Canada were sent to internment camps. The former Asahi members survived by playing ball. Their passion was contagious and soon other players joined in, among them RCMP officials and local townspeople. As a result, the games helped break down racial and cultural barriers. This remarkable story is told with a combination of archival footage, interviews and dramatic re-enactments.
Join us for this screening, registration required.
Local author Marion McKinnon Crook reads from her new book- Bloomsbury to Barkerville: The Life of Florence Wilson.
From the literary circles of Charles Dickens to gold-rush saloons in the Cariboo, this remarkable true story chronicles the fascinating life and intrepid spirit of Florence Wilson (1823–1902).
In 1862 Florence Wilson embarked on the SS Tynemouth, a bride ship destined for the Colony of British Columbia. She was one of sixty women travelling halfway around the world to become the wives of miners in the Cariboo gold rush. But unbeknownst to her fellow passengers, Florence had no intention of marrying; she was there to seek her own fortune. By the time she set sail, Florence had already experienced more life than most women and men twice her age. She had grown up as part of the gentry in central London’s Bloomsbury district, where she moved in the same literary circles as Charles Dickens and became a published poet. After being cheated of her inheritance, she fell into debilitating poverty—until news of the gold rush in Western Canada gave her the opportunity to change her life.
From poet to prospector to entrepreneur, Florence is best remembered in the frontier town of Barkerville, BC. She was the heart of the community, bringing entertainment and culture to a town dominated by transient male miners. In Barkerville, her fortunes rose, fell, and literally went up in flames in the great fire of 1868. But she always rebuilt and regrouped. Bloomsbury to Barkerville is a sweeping yet intimate portrait of an intrepid, ambitious woman.
Come join our discussion of Allen Levi’s new book!
A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.
All are welcome (even if you haven’t read the book!). Register below.
Registration required here
Calling all readers, performers, and writers! Join us on the first Wednesday of each month to share your own original material, or your favourite work by someone else: novels, stories, poems, songs, plays, memoirs, creative nonfiction, etc. Come enjoy reading, performing, or just listening. Five minutes maximum per person, please. Teens, adults, and performers at all levels of English are all welcome. Registration required for readers only.
Time slots for those wishing to read is limited, readers must register below, if you’re coming to listen don’t worry about signing up for a spot!
Drop-in and join us for a movie this Pro D day! Children under 7 must be accompanied by a caregiver. This movie is rated PG and runs for 1hr 44 mins.
Please join us for the launch of Snippets from a Small Coastal Town: Understanding Life On the Sunshine Coast, an anthology of prose, poetry, photography and art from creatives of the Sunshine Coast. They are brought together by the Quiet Writing sessions held monthly at the library.
Thanks to a Neighbourhood Small Grant secured by facilitator Cathalynn Labonté-Smith, it is the hope that this is the first volume of many to come! Join us and meet the contributors. Nibbles and beverages will be served and signed copies of the anthology will be available.
Registration required.
